A Tale of Fear
by Sir Edward
Summary: Someone or something is stalking the members of Avalanche, and has left them a nasty surprise. Vincent finds that he might know something about the stalker, but hasn't quite figured it out. Character deaths.
1. Dread

Dread

Vincent awoke with strong feeling of dread in his gut.

He looked around the room he was in, and found nothing strange or out of place, but the feeling still persisted.

He slipped out of bed, and walked across the room, his pale skin aglow with moonlight.

He shivered slightly, noticing the air's cold pressure against his bare chest, leaving goose bumps on his exposed flesh.

He didn't bother to find a shirt, walked to the window and glanced outside.

The scene looked normal, like nothing had changed over the six-hour period of his slumber.

He opened it slightly, and took a great gulp of air, the scents of the outdoors tingled in his nose, but he smelled nothing out of the ordinary.

The feeling of fear grew sharply, and he instinctively reached for his gun, but didn't find it at his side, because he had taken it off before he had went to bed.

He looked around again, trying to feel out what it was that was causing him such discomfort, and again he found nothing that would arouse his suspicions.

He crept silently to his bedside table, and picked up his trusty handgun, its weight a small reassurance to his growing dread.

He cocked the gun, and slipped noiselessly out of his room, shutting the door with a soft, barely audible 'click', and walked softly down the hall.

As he went, he glanced around trying to find this invisible specter that was stalking his mind.

As he walked to the first door in the hall, he heard a slight sound of something brushing against something else, and he froze.

He felt the terror rise in his blood, but he didn't see anything in the hall, but he could have sworn the sound was so close to him.

He unfroze, and tried the door handle, and to his great surprise, it pushed open without any effort.

He froze again, not wanting to see what was behind the door, his mind drifting to thoughts of finding dead bodies, or other loathsome and horrid sights behind the door.

But as he hesitated by the door, he heard the rustle of something behind the door, causing him to jump back slightly.

"_What is this? Why do I feel so afraid?_"

Then something else caught his attention, and that was the small gust of wind that was blowing into the hall from the room, carrying a smell he had hoped that he wouldn't smell. He decided that he needed to look, that he needed to see what it was that he was so afraid of, so he pushed the door open with one quick push.

He eyes widened in shock, and he gave a gasp.

The scene in front of him was gross.

Blood covered the walls, and limbs where strewn around the room, reminding him strangely of a puppet shop he had once walked into when he was a Turk.

Two bodies where hung from the ceiling by their chests, for they had both been decapitated.

Vincent stared, and then he had a terrible realization, and ran over to the bodies.

He checked them, and found that neither of them belonged to Avalanche members, which made him give a sigh of relief.

Then he saw it.

On the desk in the corner, was one of the heads, and stuck in it with a bloodied knife, was a single piece of blood soaked paper, with a few words written on it.

"_You all will die._" It declared in a slanted cursive writing, that looked oddly familiar to Vincent, but he wasn't sure why.

Then he noticed that the breeze was coming from the window, which was opened, leaving the curtains to flutter in the wind.

"_So that's what the brushing sound was._" He thought, still not willing to believe that the two bodies in the room where really there.

He went to the window, and shut it tightly, locking it and turning back to find that the bodies still hovered in all their ghastly splendor from the ceiling, blood oozing onto the carpet.

He needed to warn the others, so he ran to the room across the way (Cloud's) and knocked loudly on the door.

He stood, and waited, listening to what was going on behind the door, and then heard a soft sigh, and a trembling voice cry out softly "Aeris", and then quiet sobs, and all he could do was stand there.

He tried the handle to the room, and it opened with a sigh, as he let himself in.

He looked down, and found Cloud tangled in his blankets, as if he'd been thrashing around in his sleep.

"No... Don't die... please!" Cloud muttered in his sleep, shifting violently enough to make him fall off the bed.

Cloud stirred a moment on the floor, but fell back into his nightmare filled slumber.

Vincent walked over to him, and placed a single hand on Cloud's shoulder.

"Wake up Cloud... I have something to show you..." He said, shaking the sleeping blonde carefully, so that he didn't hurt him.

Cloud moaned and turned away.

"Aeris... don't leave... me..." He cried, reaching out in his sleep, catching Vincent's pant leg.

Vincent shook him again, this time a little harder.

"Wake up buddy, please!"

Cloud grunted, and his eyes slowly opened.

"Uhh... Is that you mom?" Cloud asked, looking up at Vincent with bleary vision.

"No... It's Vincent." He replied, backing away from Cloud.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" Cloud asked, his voice angry, yet grateful for being woken from his dreams.

"There's something I need to tell everyone... Come." He said, holding out his hand to help Cloud to his feet.

They walked out, and Vincent knocked on Cids door.

After six tries, Vincent decided that he'd just have to use the tried and true method of getting everyone awake.

He started to yell, and bang on doors, figuring what he needed to show everyone was more important than waking everybody up in the gentlest way possible.

Soon everyone was out of their rooms, and looking at Vincent with looks of hatred, anger, curiosity, rage or any combination of these.

"I have some bad news..." He said, shoving the door to the room with the bodies open, while the others looked on in their pajamas.

Everyone had very different reactions to what they saw.

Finally when all the commotion settled down, Barret looked at Vincent.

"What the hell happened here?" He asked, his gruff voice full of anger and other emotions that where hard to put names on.

"I found this when I went looking around... I had this bad feeling, and when I went to see what might have caused it, I found this..." He waved his hand at the bodies, and shook his head.

"There's a note on the desk stating that we 'will all die'..."

Tifa clamped onto Cloud's arm.

"Who do you think did this?"

Cloud didn't say anything; he just looked at the scene with an unreadable face.

"We should probably leave then." Red XIII said, his voice somber and quiet.

"Yeah... Let's get the fuck outta here 'fore we all turn up like them two..." Barret growled.

They called the cops, and then left the house, opting to get a train from Midgar to Kalm.

They packed quickly, and left on the first train that could get them out of town.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At the station, the tired team boarded, and had a long ride to Kalm.

When they arrived, they found an inn, and checked in.

It was already morning, and the group was dead tired.

They went to their rooms, and slept fitfully until noon.

When they woke, they grouped up at the park, and discussed what had happened the night before.

"Someone's out to get us..." Vincent said, looking at Cloud.

"Looks like... We'll have to be careful from now on..." Cloud replied, shaking his head.

"What're we going to do about this?" Yuffie asked, her voice small and frightened.

Cloud looked at her for a moment, and then shook his head again.

"We can't do much, until we know what we're up against."

"Cloud's right... We don't know who or what is after us, and we don't know what's going on... We'll just have to be careful." Red said.

"There's gotta be something else we can do besides sitting around and waiting for them to kill us?" Barret said, anger flooding his voice.

"Barret... We can't fight something that we don't know..." Vincent said.

"We did that all the time... What with all those stupid monsters we've fought!"

"They where just mere monsters... Nothing intelligent like humans... We could beat them because we could out smart them..." Vincent replied.

"Bull shit! We killed those fuckers 'cause we're strong! No dumb ass git gonna get us!" Barret said, crossing his massive arms over his chest.

"Even still... If we aren't careful, then what ever, or whom ever it is that left those bodies in the house is going to kill someone." Cloud said.

Vincent nodded with agreement, and turned to the group.

"I'll stand guard at night, because I don't need much sleep. When we go places at night, take someone with you to watch your back. I would really hate for someone to get hurt..."

"That makes sense." Yuffie said.

"Let's get to finding the asshole, and kill him 'fore he kills us!" Cid muttered, the cigarette in his mouth bobbing up and down as he did.

"What?" Tifa asked, looking at Cid with a slightly confused look on her face.

"I said, let's kill this asshole before he kills us! I'm not waitin' around for him to get me... Fuck that! No way am I lettin' this piece of shit get me..."

"We'll just have to make do with what we've got. We can't just blindly search for something that could kill us... That would be a bad idea. Let's see what happens if we wait." Vincent suggested.

"I don't want to fucking die man! We sit around, and we're all going to be dangling from the ceiling by our armpits! Screw that! I'm going to leave if you dumb jerks want to sit and die!" Cid said, stomping off.

"We have to have someone watch him... I don't like the idea of leaving him alone." Vincent said, watching as Cid disappeared from sight.

"I'll go." Red said, and looked to Cloud for confirmation.

Cloud gave a nod, and Red XIII ran off after Cid.

"This is scary." Yuffie said, her brown eyes aglow with fright.

"Don't worry... We'll find out who did this and make them pay." Cloud replied his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

The group went to the nearest inn, and got rooms for the night.

As the moon slipped across the sky, they sat and waited in silence hoping that Red would return with Cid.

There was a tapping at the window, and they saw Red standing outside with a dull look in his eyes. They let him in, and he sat looking at the group with an odd look.

"I lost him... His scent just vanished..." He said in the stillness of the room.


	2. Despair

Despair

The group stared at him in shock, and all began to worry about what could have happened to Cid.

"I hope he's okay." Tifa said, her tone full of concern for the pilot.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, Cid was walking along, pulling the eighth cigarette out of his pack, and lighting it.

"Damn those idiots... Waitin' around to die! Why'd I even go with them? I wasn't even a big part of saving the fricken world!" He muttered under his breath.

He marched on, even as the night grew dark, by 10:00pm he had smoked the last of his cigarettes, and was pissed about not having more.

"FUCK! THIS IS INSANITY! DAMN YOU STALKER! YOU'VE RUINED MY LIFE!" Cid bellowed at the sky, finally giving in to the deep feeling of dread that was building in him since the moment he left the group's side.

He fell to his knees in a little park, his rough hands clenched over his face. He was crying, hating himself, hating the stalker, and hating the world at that moment. He couldn't hear the odd sound that was coming from behind him, a weird sort of 'lump thump... lump, thump..." sound.

It was nearly midnight at that time, and Cid remained kneeling on the ground for quite some time, not being able to understand why he suddenly broke under the tension of the stalker.

"_This is the exact thing that sick fuck wants... Why did I fall for the shit that I said I wouldn't? Damn it!_" He thought, finally deciding to stand up, and head back to the inn.

He turned about, and saw a dark shadow slip across the path a few feet in front of him.

"_Shit! Is that... IT?_" He thought, just as a flash caught his attention, and then he realized what it was... a knife.

The blade of the knife gashed his arm, ripping at the muscles like a vicious dog. He staggered back, and fear lit up his eyes.

"So Cid Highwind... You'll be the first one to die." Came a malicious voice that had an odd feminine quality to it.

"Bitch! What're you doing?" He shouted, blundering backwards until he fell, hitting the ground hard.

"Heh... You should know. I'm the one who's going to kill you all." The woman's voice said from the shadow.

She lunged out from her spot, and this time the knife hit true.

The blade sank into Cid's back, just below his neck and cutting straight to the bone. Cid gasped as the knife was then mercilessly dragged down his back, slicing him to the shoulder blade. He didn't even get to see his killer before the darkness over took him. His last thoughts where: "_Fucking bitch got me._"

The woman gave a smile and looked down at Cid's body with something akin to joy.

"You where always the stupid one Cid Highwind. You always underestimated your team, and look where it got you now, hm? Too bad you can't answer me a few questions before I killed you. I've got to get my revenge!" She said grinning as she started to mangle the body, and finally tying it to a tree with its intestines.

She looked at her handy work, and stuck the knife in the corpse's empty right eye socket.

"This should excite them!" She said, patting the body on the cheek, and then walking away as if nothing had happened.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning the group gathered around the T.V. to watch the six o'clock news.

"And the headline story today is: "_Man brutally murdered in Kalm." _ Reporters say the man was tied to a tree, with his intestines. The police also found a knife that had been stuck through the man's right eye. Chief Investigator Rondall Morgan said: "The body was found at around 4am in the morning, by a man walking his dog. When we got to the scene, the first thing we saw was a lot of blood. The body had been badly mangled, but an ID should be confirmed in about three hours. The CSI teams have turned up nothing though. The knife at the scene was completely clean of fingerprints or any other identifying clues. His death was believed to be around 12:19pm. The man had blonde hair, and a pair of flying goggles strapped to his head, but nothing else about him could be found. He was carrying no identification, and no wallet..." The T.V. news castor was cut off in a flash, as Cloud had turned it off.

The group just stared at each other for a while, unable to speak.

Tifa and Yuffie both started crying and hugging each other, Cloud just looked like he did always, Vincent shook his head, Barret punched a hole in the wall and cursed, Red bowed his head, and Cait Sith tried to look sad.

After a lot of crying, cursing (mostly from Barret), and other ways of mourning, Vincent spoke up.

"Look. We all will miss Cid, but we can't let this take us down. We have to keep going and not let this monster kill us. Understand that I do care that he is gone, but I also know that if we become afraid, and hide, more of us will die. Do you understand?" He said quietly, his voice somber and sad.

Cloud looked at Vincent and nodded, his mouth contorted into a grim line.

Tifa and Yuffie both looked at him, their tear-stained faces close together, fear and grief set in their eyes.

Barret grunted, and cursed again under his breath, sitting heavily onto a chair near him.

"What the fuck we gonna do about it Vince? Ain't no stinkin' way I'm gonna sit here and wait for some fuckin' mad man teh come in here and kill us! I wanna go out there and get the fucker 'fore he gets us! We should all go, that way the bitch don't get the chance to pick us off one by one. He gotta deal with us all."

'We still don't know what we're up against, but I share your unease Barret. I don't know why this is happening. It's starting to look like one of those cheap horror films... But we can't go looking for the bee's nest, unless we want to get stung." Vincent said, trying to both be logical and understanding.

"The fuck with bees Vince! We're sittin' ducks if we don't get the fuck outta here! You know as well as I do, that we can take any bitchin' mad man that wants to kill us! So I say we call the fucker out!" Barret grumbled, leaning back into the chair, his huge arms crossed.

"Barret? Don't you understand that we can't just put ourselves in danger to try and confront this person? It would be pure insanity to grope blindly in the dark trying to find them. Can't you see that?"

"Damn it! You keep sayin' that we need to wait, but look what happened! One of our friends got fucking killed! Got his guts ripped out! Do you want that to happen to you?" Barret replied.

"No. I am aware of the fact that Cid died. I'm also aware of the fact that we're fighting an unknown terror, and that making a plan could save us a lot of needless bloodshed. Please Barret, don't let your emotions cloud your judgment."

"Please stop Barret. It's bad enough that Cid's gone... I don't want anyone else to die." Yuffie cried, her brown eyes pleading.

"Fuck! I don't want none of us to die either! I'm just tryin' to say that if we get this freak, then we wont have to worry any more."

"I agree with Barret! Let's get the freak now! I don't want Cid to have died and not get revenged." Tifa said, her voice unsteady, and full of pain.

"Tifa! Please... We can't do that yet..." Cloud said, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Why not Cloud? You did it for Aeris!" Tifa said angrily.

Cloud looked dumbfounded, and stepped back.

"I... I... Yes... I did... But that... that was... different." Cloud stammered.

"How? We chased her all the way to the Forgotten City, and then Sephiroth appeared! Tell me that wasn't dangerous Cloud!"

"Well... Um... Yeah, it was... But it was different." Cloud replied, scratching the back of his head.

"No it wasn't! You just don't care for Cid like you did for Aeris! That's the only reason it's different!" She cried, pointing an accusing finger at Cloud.

"Don't you dare say that. I do care if my team dies." Cloud said in a deathly quiet tone.

Tifa looked taken aback.

"Look, this is what the killer wants. If we fight, and then we separate one of us dies. Let's stop fighting over something that is irrelevant to the situation now." Vincent said, before Tifa could make a comeback to Cloud's comment.

Tifa bit her tongue, and looked at Vincent.

"He's right. This is what the killer wants." Red said.

"I'm... sorry." Tifa said, casting her eyes to the floor.

"I am too." Cloud said to Tifa.

"Now, let's sit down and make a plan." Vincent suggested, and everyone gathered around the kitchen table.

"Okay, I think I've got a plan to lure the killer here so that we can fight him on our own turf." He continued once every one was seated.

"Here's the plan..." He started.


	3. Disagree

Disagree

"I think we need to use a sort of 'bait and wait' tactic. We could leave someone here 'alone', and the rest hide though out the house after we make it look like we all left. I don't know how well it will work, but we could try it." Vincent said, as he leaned against the table.

"I don't want to split up. It would leave us all open for attack." Cloud said, shaking his head at the suggestion.

"I agree with Vincent... It would lure them in, thinking that there was only one of us in the house, and then when the murderer comes, we get 'em!" Cait Sith said from atop his large moogle.

"No... I don't want to sacrifice anyone! It wouldn't be worth it!" Tifa said, her voice still full of sorrow from their loss.

"We can't just sit around and wait anymore though Tifa..." Vincent started to say, but was interrupted by her.

"We can't take chances Vincent! If we do that, someone's sure to die!" She cried, as tears started to fall down her cheeks.

Cloud put an arm gently over Tifa's shoulders and tried to help her calm down.

"Listen Tif. He's got a good point, but we need a better plan." He said, hoping to reassure her.

She looked at him confused, and then shrugged.

"Fine. But I don't want anyone to get hurt." She said in a quiet voice.

Vincent nodded.

"Okay, let's brain storm then." He suggested.

The group agreed, and started to talk about different plans that might work to bring down the unknown foe.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The woman sat atop a building, overlooking the inn the group was staying in.

"You all will feel my wrath... It makes me feel alive again! Wait Vincent... Wait, and you shall feel my vengeance burning in your veins. Then you will know the pain that you have caused me!" She laughed a high, haughty laugh, and grinned at the shadowy figures moving around in the room across the street.

She turned and leapt from the top of the building, and landed on all fours like an animal, and stood up.

"This is going to get better and better." She murmured under her breath as she walked down the road as if she hadn't just jumped off the roof of a four-story building.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The group kept disagreeing on what they should do, and ultimately came up with nothing after two hours of talking.

"Look guys, we aren't getting anywhere with this... If we keep arguing, then there won't be a plan to use. Times are grave, and I know it's hard to work under this kind of stress, but we need to do something more than just argue." Vincent finally said, making everyone fall silent.

Cloud looked at Vincent and then looked back at the group.

"We really should try to be working together on this one, not arguing." He said to them, looking back to Vincent for his support.

"But every plan so far has been bad! I mean, we can't just booby-trap the house like Cait Sith said, nor would it be any easier to capture them with a net!" Tifa replied, her voice calmer than it was an hour ago.

" I know... But we need to try something, nothing farfetched, mind, but the fact that we're arguing like a bunch of school kids doesn't bode well for us at all." Vincent said.

"I think Vince has got a point. Screw capturing the freak, let's kill him!" Barret said, thumping his massive hand against the table.

"We can't kill him or her or whatever it is that's after us! We need to know what it is first!" Tifa cried.

"ENOUGH!" Vincent said, raising his voice quite loudly, his eyes flashing a dull red color, making everyone stare at him in shock.

"I don't think that I've ever heard him yell before." Cait Sith said, with his mouth hanging open.

"Be quite already! I've heard enough of this bantering! We're in a dangerous situation, and everyone's losing it. We can't have that happen! Now, enough with the brainstorming, because clearly everyone is too disgruntled to do it properly, and let's actually do something." He continued, his tone still full of frustration and disappointment.

"But..." Tifa started, but Vincent raised his hand.

"No Tifa... I know you don't think that 'sacrificing' someone is a good idea. I don't like the idea much myself, but we need to make a move here, or else what will happen? Do you think they'll stop? Do you think that they'll pity us, and let us get them? We actually need to do something if we want to get things done. I'm sorry for shouting earlier, but I needed to make a point. Forgive me." He said, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice.

"So... You think we should do your 'bait 'n wait'... I think that's the dumbest idea of 'em all! You know that splittin' up gets us killed! Look what happened earlier! We gotta get them where we all can fight!" Barret boomed, looking at Vincent unhappily.

"I didn't say that Barret, I said that I didn't much like the idea of sacrificing someone to bring them here... Don't shout, please. I know that tension is high, and people are afraid, but you can't let your fear drive you mad. Please, understand that I'm just trying to come up with a plan that won't get another one of us killed." Vincent replied, his voice becoming quiet again, and the red fading from his eyes.

"Fine, just get on with it." Barret grunted, his brown eyes glaring at Vincent as if to say that he was really mad.

"We need to stop whoever it is that is trying to kill us, but we don't know what we're fighting... That makes it difficult, so we need to find a way to 'study' this individual, and learn about how they operate. But getting to close to them could endanger us, so we can't learn much about them, other than they are very twisted. So, we come back to just stabbing in the dark... But once again, that won't get us anywhere. We must find a lure for them, without endangering ourselves. Understood?" His said, standing at the head of the table.

The group nodded, and waited for him to continue.

"I say that we leave Cloud here, because he is the most capable fighter in our group, and we make a 'bait and wait'... I know that this idea has been shot down, but I can think of no other way to do this, without putting the whole group at risk. Are you okay with that Cloud?"

Cloud looked apathetically up at the ceiling, and nodded.

"Good, that's a start." Vincent said, looking at the rest of the group for support.

Then they began discussing where the rest of them would hide, while Cloud played the 'worm'.


	4. Deprived

I'm not sure I like this chapter as is... But I'd love to know what everyone thinks of it, because I think that it's not as good as the first one's I've posted. Any **HELPFUL** criticisms, suggestions (For who else dies, or changes in this chapter.), or complaints (flames will be ignored and possibly deleted if they are not written in good English) would be greatly welcomed, so please take a moment after you've read this chapter, to leave a short (but clear) review as to whether you liked this chapter or not...

I would like to thank Robert Davis, and Mitts, who have become my two most helpful reviewers, and to Organization.XIII.Tears and Le Pecore Nere, for leaving reviews as well. Thanks guys!! And to all who have read the story, but didn't leave a review, you guys are great, I'd love to hear from you, and if you've an honest complaint, I'd be glad to heat it.

Sir Edward.

Deprived

It was 10:23pm and the group finally came up with a plan that made everyone feel a little better than they had started off, but the unease was still palpable in the air.

Tifa, Yuffie and Vincent left the building, and went around the back, got into the three-wheeled truck, and drove it around the block, parking behind a large building. They got out, and proceeded to climb over fences and run through people's yards, returning to the back of the inn, and going to the basement. After that, Barret left pretending to the package store, walking down the street, closely followed by Red and Cait Sith. He went around the block as well, but when it came to climbing fences, he wasn't built well for that, so instead, he got the truck, and pulled it around to the street that the inn was on, and went in though the side door. This left Cloud sitting alone in the room, his sword placed where he could grab it quickly when the stalker came.

The group then arranged themselves in various parts of the three rooms that they had, throwing the doors between the rooms wide open, so that they could get into any room easily.

Yuffie hid in a closet in the third room, (Cloud was in the middle room, or the second one) Barret had a little trouble fitting himself into the space they thought would fit him, so he instead hid in the shower in the first room. He shifted a little awkwardly in the tub, as he sat and waited. Vincent hid out on the porch, settling in a semi-crouch behind the table so that he could get a clear shot of the intruder when they tried to kill Cloud. Red hid under the bed in the first room, and Cait Sith was told to leave, because his moogle would give them all away. He protested, but finally agreed, knowing that he would indeed endanger the group if he stuck around. He went and stood outside the door of the second room, figuring he was the most expendable of the group. Tifa hid in the bathroom in the third room.

When everyone was in place, they waited, knowing that something would happen.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The stalker waited, noting that everyone had left except one, and she smiled.

"_They play like I'm stupid, and that a simple trap will relieve them of me... I must prove them wrong. Tonight, I make a second kill!_" She thought, once again waiting on the roof of the building across from the inn.

She leapt off the roof, and crept silently down the road.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The tension coming from the three rooms loomed in the semi-dark of the moon lit rooms, like a buzzard over a carcass.

Tifa was afraid, but trying to keep her mind clear so that when the time came, she could fight unhindered. Her red-brown eyes stared into the darkness of the bathroom, and clenched her fists. Every noise made her jump, and the moonlight was not helping her fear. Then, after a half hour a noise caught her attention, as it was different than all the others, and that was the door opening.

Yuffie was pulled into the room by a shadowy figure that seemed to be holding something against Yuffie's neck.

"Make a single sound, and I slit the girl's throat. Got that?" The figure said in a harsh whisper.

Tifa looked shocked as the figure closed the door without a sound.

She was just about to try and make a move, when the figure gave a gruff laugh.

"They're not going to hear this... Don't think of screaming, or she dies..." The shadow said in a barely audible voice.

Then Tifa did the only thing that she thought she could, and she flung herself at the intruder, but instead of her fist hitting the shadow, her knuckles smashed into Yuffie's temple, throwing the young woman to the floor with a loud 'CRASH'.

But the fight was over before it had begun, as the knife descended down, piercing Tifa's skin like a razor cuts hair.

The figure moved quickly, and slammed through the door, and jumped out the window, just as the others started to make it in.

Vincent, who was still on the balcony, fired three shots at the killer, as she ran through the light of a street lamp, but the bullets didn't find their mark, and the shadowy killer got away.

Vincent cursed under his breath, and then heard shouting coming from the other room.

"SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE FER FUCK'S SAKE! SHE FUCKIN' DYING!" Barret bellowed, as he knelt on the ground, next to a limp figure.

Vincent jumped from the second room balcony, and onto the third, opening the door to find a horrid sight.

Tifa lay in a pool of blood on the ground, her eyes glazed over, staring absently into the ether. A hole in her chest poured out her life as the others scrambled to try to stem the crimson flow, while Cloud called the hospital.

Vincent came and knelt next to Barret, and took up Tifa's arm, his fingers holding onto her wrist.

He felt for her pulse, and found none, and a pit opened in his mind.

"_Another of us dies... What is this? We save the world, and now we're dying one by one, at the hands of a depraved lunatic... What did we do to deserve this?_"

"The paramedics will be here in a moment... Is she... okay?" Cloud asked Vincent, as he choked on the feelings that where slowly blossoming in his mind.

Vincent looked down at Tifa, and knew that she was gone, he felt no spark, and she had no pulse. It was too late.

"Cloud... I'm... sorry. It's... too late." He said, looking up at Cloud, watching as a thousand feelings flashed across Cloud's face, before it settled on a look of shock.

"What the hell are you saying? She's not... she can't be... No... not possible... Why?" Cloud cried, falling to his knees.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Cloud crawled over to Tifa, and looked down at the gaping hole, still dripping blood onto the ground, like a morbid hourglass.

The paramedics came about five minutes after that, and tried as hard as they could to revive Tifa, but nothing worked.

One of the paramedics took out a notebook, and wrote: 'Tifa Lockheart. Age 21, gender: Female. Died on the 5th of June.', as the others covered her with a white cloth.

Cloud just watched the whole procedure with an unreadable face, as he watched as the second woman he loved being carted off to the morgue. Something inside of him snapped as he came to the realization that he was once again the cause of someone's death, not purposely, but he had agreed to put the group in yet another dangerous position, full well knowing the consequences.

"_Why is life so cruel?_" He thought, as the medics finished and pulled Tifa's body through the door, leaving the six Avalanche members in total silence.

Then he had had enough, and without so much as a word to the others, he left.

Vincent stared after Cloud, his mind numb from the shock of yet another death weighed down on them. He thought to stop Cloud from leaving, but knew that it would be no use, as was proved when he relentlessly went after Sephiroth after Aeris' death.

"_Be careful Cloud... Don't let the killer get you._" He thought, as Cloud's back retreated quickly out of sight around a corner.


	5. Determined

Determined

Cloud ran through the corridors, and out of the building, his mind full of anger, rage and sorrow. His hand went to his back, touching the hilt of the large sword that was strapped to his back, gripping it tightly for a moment, and then releasing it.

"_I'll kill them... I'll kill who ever did this... I won't let it happen again._"

His face contorted into a sneer as he ran after the killer, his mind set on death, the ultimate destruction of life.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Vincent watched Cloud from the window, knowing that Cloud would pursue them until he had settled his score.

"_He's going alone though... He almost died the last time he went off alone, but that didn't even seem to occur to him._" He thought, thinking of all the times that Cloud had gotten himself almost killed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"_Ah... So the blonde one follows... This will be a good test of my power. He is after all a blood relative of mine._" The killer thought, watching Cloud's form retreat into the dark from a rooftop, and smiled faintly.

She stood from her crouch, and began to follow Cloud across the rooftops.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yuffie woke up in the bathroom, seemingly forgotten by the others, who had, though she didn't know, been dealing with Tifa. Her head and jaw throbbed like someone had hit her with a bag full of lead, and she felt dried blood on her face, from where the knuckles impacted.

She gave a groan, and tried to move, but her body gave stiff resistance.

"_God... The pain is... horrid._" She thought, as she lay there feeling hopeless.

Then she noticed the blood pooled on the ground a few feet from her, and she gasped, hurting her jaw in the process.

"GAH!" She cried, as sharp pain slashed through her jaw, but the cry only made the pain worse, causing her body to tremble with pain, as tears poured from her eyes.

Vincent heard the cry, and rushed into the bathroom to find out what the sound was.

When he got in, he saw Yuffie on the ground, curled up in a ball, sobbing but without actually making any real noise.

"Yuffie?" Vincent asked shaking his head, and then noticing the blood that had caked onto her face.

"Are you okay?" He asked gently, as he squat down next to her.

She looked at him though tear filled eyes, hoping that he'd understand that she couldn't talk.

He saw the large bruise that was forming on her jaw, and nodded.

"We'll get you help as soon as possible..."

She lay there, and didn't move, and Vincent reached out and cupped her chin gently in his hand, so that he could get a better look at the cut.

"That's pretty bad... But it should heal."

She looked at the pool of blood, and gave Vincent a questioning look, hoping he'd get that she was asking about it. He noticed where she was looking, and his face grew dark, and he shook his head.

"That's where Tifa died..." He said quietly, as he looked down at Yuffie.

Yuffie took a sharp intake of breath through her nose, and looked up at him with a look that would have made even Cloud feel bad for her.

Vincent put a hand under her arm, and with a gentle tug, he helped her to her feet, but the head rush she got almost made her pass out.

She wobbled on the spot, but the moment passed, and she leaned against Vincent for support. She began to sob uncontrollably, her face buried in his cape. He tried to soothe her tears, but it was too much for the little ninja, and she just started to cry harder.

"I know... It's horrible, and I wish it would stop too... This is like a bad nightmare, but when we wake, it will still feel bad." He said, holding her close to him, while he rubbed her back gently.

The others heard the wailing in the bathroom, and came in to see what was going on.

They came in, and saw Yuffie entwined in Vincent's arms, sobbing hysterically, even though the pain in her jaw was burning like a fire.

Red walked up to her, and put his muzzle against her leg, summoning up Cure I, to get rid of the nasty cut.

A green energy surrounded her, and the cut slowly vanished, leaving her free to speak again.

Yuffie noticed that her jaw didn't hurt anymore, and began to stutter incoherently.

"She's... Why? Vincent? I... I... she's..."

Vincent continued his attempts to calm her, but it wasn't working.

"Say it isn't so!" She managed to get out, only to be told that it was true.

"She's gone... I'm... I'm sorry." He said, hating to have to be the bearer of bad news.

Barret looked at Yuffie, and he just couldn't take it.

"We've gotta do something about this Vincent! We can't just sit on our fucking asses and watch each other die! Let's go look for the freak, and get them! I've been trying to say that for a while! No one listens to the big fucking black guy though!" He rumbled, as he leaned against the doorframe.

"You don't think that I've been trying to figure out what's going on? We've lost two too many already, and you think that I haven't listened to every idea that people have said? I think that your idea is as valid as anyone else's, so don't get angry. We don't have time to fight." Vincent said calmly, still holding Yuffie to him, her sobs punctuated by periodic bouts of silence.

"We need to do something! Fer fuck's sake, we can't just lay down and let'em beat us!" Barret said, his tone less angry than it was before.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The killer followed Cloud, a smile plastered on her face.

"_I can't wait to kill this one! He's the leader... Without him, the group will fall apart. It'll take some of the fun out of it, but they should still put up a fight._"

She leaped a gap between buildings, and soared to the other side, keeping pace with Cloud who was running in no particular direction at this point.

"_He'll hit a dead end soon... That's when I'll make my move._"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After an hour of crying, Yuffie fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, her head resting lightly against Vincent's stomach. He lifted her up carefully, and brought her to bed, laying her down and taking off her shoes. He tossed a loose blanket over her, and left her to rest.

Coming into the first room, he sat on the ground with the others, and tried to come up with another plan, one that would work this time.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cloud came to an abrupt halt as he stared at the brick wall in front of him. His hand shot out and touched the rust-red surface, willing it to be a figment of his imagination, but found it to be as real as the sword on his back.

"DAMN IT!" He shouted at the sky, completely oblivious to the shadow that dropped into the ally behind him, a long knife poised ready for the kill.


	6. Deter

Deter

"Where's Cloud gone?" Yuffie asked, looking around for the chocobo haired hero.

"He left, but I don't know where he went." Vincent said in a grave tone.

"Is he in danger?"

"He can take care of himself... Let's worry about us, while Cloud hunts for the killer." He replied, looking around at the remaining members.

"What the hell are we going to do then? Sit on our asses? That's about all we've fucking done, and look where it's gotten us! KILLED!" Barret shouted, banging a large fist against the tabletop, sending Yuffie's juice crashing to the floor.

"We need a new tactic... I call it 'The Hunter Becomes the Hunted'. We need to find this freak, and eliminate them!" he continued, ignoring Yuffie's feeble cries about her juice.

"Like I've said Barret... We can't just go blindly after an enemy that has killed two of our group already. Do you think that we have a chance of finding them? I know from experience how hard it is to find someone who wants to stay hidden... I am after all an Ex-Turk."

"So what?! We can't stay here any more! Isn't that clear too? I mean the bitch got two of us while we stayed here! Isn't that proof enough that we should leave?" Barret countered, leaning on the table with both his elbows.

"What we need to do is to stop arguing like children!" Vincent snapped, putting his clawed gauntlet on the table, almost like a threat.

"Okay then, what the hell do you want to do then? Want us to stick our finger up our asses and then wait?! I'm getting sick of your bullshit Vincent! People are fucking dieing, and you just say we need to wait? What the hell is that? You for or against us Vincent, 'cause right the fuck now, it looks like you're working for the killer!" Barret said with anger that made Yuffie flinch.

Vincent stood up, his face emotionless, and unreadable.

"If you've had enough of me, I shall leave... I would hate to keep you from killing yourself. My apologies." Vincent said, his tone icy and like daggers.

With a swish of his cape, he turned and left before anyone could protest, shutting the door as quietly as he'd approached it.

"Fucking idiot." Barret spat, glaring at the door as if he where trying to burn a hole through it.

Yuffie stared at Barret, having never seen the man act like this before, and stood too.

"Barret... I'm sorry, but... I think Vincent's right... I'm going to look for him." She said softly, in hopes that she didn't make the big man angrier.

"Fine... Get the fuck outta here. You don't trust me, he don't trust me... Cloud sure as fuck don't trust me... Why don't you all just leave me the fuck alone? Oh wait... You are!" Barret growled, as tears started to fall from the corners of his eyes.

Yuffie watched him for a moment, and started toward the door, and then stopped.

"You should come too... We should all go... We'll need people to watch our backs." She said, hoping he'd come.

Barret looked at her, and then he shook his head slowly.

"You don't get it kid... You're too young to understand what I've been through... I've watched people I've loved die, get killed, and kill themselves... Hell I even killed a friend of mine... Now I have to go through this after all the fucking stress of saving the world? Do you know how hard it is to make friends when you just expect them to die?" Barret said calmly, his hands covering his eyes. "I know Vincent's right... But it hurts to sit around and do nothing! I promised myself that I'd protect my friends, my family... But I failed over and over and over again... My wife... Jessie in the reactor... Dane... Aeris in the Forgotten City... Now this? How much more of this can I endure?" He continued, looking up at Yuffie, to see her crying as well.

"I know Barret... My father died... He was killed, because people where afraid of him... He was a powerful ninja, who had the spirit of a water serpent in him. When he died, I was holding him, as he bled... as he died... He said two things before he died... 'Take the materia that appears when I die'... and 'I love you Yuffie, don't ever forget that'... I was only a little girl, maybe 4 or 5..." Yuffie said quietly.

Barret looked shocked, and he looked up again at her, his eyes bloodshot from his tears.

"I may not get what you went through, but we all have our sob stories to tell... And for us, these stories are the worst thing that could happen too us... But you made yourself a promise... So keep it. You can protect those you care about who are left, instead of driving them away. Think of Marlene... Your wife... What would she have said if she had been here? Come on, we need to find Vincent, let's hurry before he gets too far away." She continued, waiting to see his reaction.

Barret didn't move for a moment, and then he stood quickly, knocking the chair he had sat in over.

"You're right... I need to help my friends... I made a promise, and I won't break it." He said, walking over to her and putting a big hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks." He said, and then turned to the door.

"Let's go find him."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As the knife plunged through the air, Cloud stepped back, and instead of burying itself in his back, it slammed against the solid metal of his sword, causing the knife to get jarred out of the killer's hand.

He spun on the spot, and drew his blade in one fluid motion, as the attacker staggered back, holding her knife hand to her chest.

"You wanted to kill me right?" He said in a barely audible voice, as his hands shook with rage, the blade wavering slightly from the tremors.

"So you're not as stupid as you let on, eh?" The killer replied, stepping back out of the range of the massive sword.

"You have no right to kill us... So I've come to stop you." Cloud replied ignoring the insult the killer had tossed at him.

"What makes you think that you can stop the thing that spawned Sephiroth? You're nothing but a puppet in my grip, Cloud Strife. Nothing you can do will stop me." The killer said, a smirk gracing her thin lips.

"You can't be... Jenova?" Cloud sputtered, the enormity of the words where like a bolt of lightning to him.

"The very same." Jenova said, bowing just slightly to him, in a mock attempt to show respect.

Cloud stared for a moment to long, and he paid for it.

Jenova pulled out another dagger she had concealed under her belt, and threw it at him, hitting him in the shoulder, just to the right of the joint.

She lunged at him and drove a powerful punch into his stomach, knocking the blade to the ground as she did.

In a flash, Cloud was pinned face first against the wall, Jenova's thin arms griping his to her chest.

"You're too slow." Jenova taunted, as she started to pull one of his arms up, straining his shoulder.

Cloud grunted in pain, as Jenova continued to put pressure on his arm, intending to break it. He felt his tendons stretching, and knew it would be the end if she succeeded.

He lifted his foot in the air, and brought it down with tremendous force onto Jenova's foot, crushing her toes under his heel. Her grip loosened, and he flung himself backwards, catching her off guard, sending them both keeling over. When they hit the ground, Cloud pulled away, rolling to the side, to grab his sword. Just as he reached for it, a foot came smashing down on top of it, breaking his pinky with the impact.

"I told you already that you were too slow... Don't fool yourself into thinking you can beat me... I'm the final remains of Jenova... The largest remnant of her being... I have become her." Jenova said, grinding his hand against the ground with her foot.

Cloud gasped from the pain that shot through his hand as she crushed it beneath her foot. He needed to get free, but his body wasn't moving, even in his attempts to make it move.

"_I can't let her win... I just can't..._" He thought, as his final fight with Sephiroth played through his head, but this time Sephiroth was laughing, instead of looking shocked, and slightly afraid as Cloud's sword came down on him, slashing his skin to ribbons, spilling his blood on the ground and killing him.

"You die now Cloud Strife... And when you die, so does the world... I will take your cells, and start the Reunion again, but this time Jenova and Sephiroth will be one..." She said, as she drew out her favorite dagger, a long, crooked blade, with a serrated edge.

Cloud thought for sure that this was the end, when there was a slight whooshing sound from just behind them.

Jenova grinned, and without looking back said, "Ah... Chaos... So good to see you again."

She kicked Cloud in the chest, knocking the wind out of him, and turned to face Vincent.

"You've come to save little puppet boy have you? Well... You won't stop me this time!" Jenova said, holding out the dagger.

Vincent looked at the weapon and recoiled slightly, though he wasn't sure why he did.

"You remember this don't you? Heh... Last time you saw this, it was your end, or so the Imperium thought. But you weren't dead, you just where looking for a new host. So... I'll have the pleasure of killing you and this runt..." Jenova smiled, as she caressed the blade almost sensually.

Vincent felt heat building in his mind, and pressure in his sinuses, as the demon within him stirred.

"I have no clue what you're talking about." Vincent said, his hand trembling as he held his gun pointed at Jenova.

"Oh, you don't... Chaos does though... Why don't you let him out to play? I have something very painful to show him." Jenova smirked, licking her lips suggestively.

Vincent then felt a splitting pain in his head, as the demon broke through his mental confines, and began to overtake his body, causing the transformation to begin.

In all of about three seconds, Vincent no longer was standing in the ally, in his place stood a tall demon-like human, his blue-grey skin giving off an odd glow as it turned it's fire orange eyes upon Jenova.

"We meet again." Chaos said in a deep resonating voice.

"Yes. And this will be the last." Jenova said, as her human body began to change as well, the skin growing paler and the hair tuning a shade of black that made the night seem bright. She grew taller, almost a foot taller, and sprouted a single white wing, coming out of her left shoulder. Soon, a naked woman-like being stood before Chaos, and in her hand was a sword, its edge blood red, the blade a metallic grey, its length over six feet. The blade was none other than Masamune, Sephiroth's blade, but it gave off a much more menacing feel when Cloud looked upon it.

"You will not ruin my plan again Chaos... This remnant that lies on the ground behind me is mine to do with what I see fit... Go back to Hell where you belong, or I shall send you there forever." Jenova said, as she dove at Chaos, Masamune giving off a blood red aura of light as she charged...


	7. Defeat

Defeat

Chaos stood there, as Jenova charged, and lifted a single hand up, palm facing Jenova. Just as Masamune was going to strike, a bright dark red flame shot up from the ground, stopping the blade from making contact.

Jenova hissed with anger and sidestepped, dodging around the wall of fire, and slashed again.

Masamune's blade met air, and hit the ground with a clang.

"Don't toy with me Jenova... I know you're stronger than that." Chaos chided, as he appeared in front of her in a flash of fire.

Jenova jumped back, narrowly missing the dark red flames as she readied herself for another attack.

"You should be talking... You where much stronger when there was more of you." Jenova replied, slashing out with Masamune.

Cloud watched as these two entities of another world battled each other, their movements light and fluid, almost like a love dance.

"Where's your weapon Chaos? Have you lost your true powers? If I remember, you used a spiked flail the last time we fought. What happened to it?" She asked mockingly, as Chaos avoided a cutting blow, and stepped back, dropping to a defensive pose.

Chaos ignored her, and focused on getting the battle to move out of the ally, by forcing Jenova to slowly back out. He sped forward, and shot a blast of fire, and Jenova swung Masamune through the air and deflected the fire with a laugh.

"You're not going to be able to stop me!" She cried, slashing out with the long blade. Again the sword missed, and clattered off of a wall.

Chaos chose this moment to throw himself at Jenova, his weight carrying both of them out of the ally and into the street.

"RUN FOOL!" Chaos shouted at Cloud, as he flew through the air, entwined with Jenova in a strange embrace.

Cloud got up slowly, his body aching from the punishment it had taken earlier. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and staggered unsteadily from the ally, using the large blade as a cane, thought it's weight soon became too much for him, and he dropped it and kept going.

"HE SHALL NOT LEAVE!" Jenova roared, throwing out her arm in Cloud's direction, sending a blast of green light at him.

Before Chaos could do anything, the light collided with Cloud, sending him sprawling to the ground in an untidy heap, from which he did not stand.

"NOOOOO!" Chaos screamed, his eyes changing from the orange shade they had started off as, to a deep crimson color, almost that of blood.

"Ah... You've started caring for mortals now too? You're so much weaker then you where... How can you care for that filth? They give you nothing for your help, and yet you follow them like a dog! That's it... You're their little pet Demon aren't you?" Jenova scoffed, as Chaos turned and fixed his gaze with hers.

"They accepted me... And they're my friends. I never had friends while I was in the Underworld." Chaos replied.

"You don't need friends! You've got all the followers you need! Fear is the ultimate tool... You should know that!" Jenova cried, raising Masamune up, so that the tip was pointing to Chaos' heart.

"That withered husk in your chest... shouldn't be able to feel such disgraceful emotions... You are an embarrassment to the Underworld! You don't even deserve to grace its doorstep with your presence..." She continued, as Chaos realized what was going on.

"So be it... I shall not return... But instead, I will die... AND TAKE YOU WITH ME!" Chaos retaliated, his wings snapping out to their full twelve-foot length.

Then an eerie light shimmered around Chaos, and then it seemed to explode, causing a brilliant white light to fill the air. As it cleared, Chaos stood holding a limp, red-cloaked figure under his arm, his body very different than it was before.

He now stood as tall as Jenova, with dark red wings and pale white skin. His face was pointed and feral looking, and a shock of long, blazing red hair had grown from his head. In his other hand was a malicious looking spiked flail, its barbed ends dripping acid green liquid onto the ground, which hissed on contact. He smiled.

"This is what's left of me Jenova... No more than you, but now... Now is the Day of Judgment." He put down Vincent, and walked forward, the flail held in his hands as if he had been born with it.

"Good... We shall see what comes of it!" Spat Jenova, holding out Masamune in a semi-salute, then she gave a mocking bow.

"To the death!" They both cried, and leapt into the sky.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Barret and Yuffie ran through the streets, heading for the flash of light they had seen.

"Do you think it's too late? Has the killer gotten...?" Yuffie began, but Barret interrupted.

"Don't say that girl! I don't want to think about it, JUST MOVE YOUR ASS!"

They ran in silence, and soon came upon Cloud, who had not moved since the light had hit him.

"Is he?"

"Shut up! I'm checking his pulse." Barret said, as he felt the vein on Cloud's neck, his face contorted in his concentration. Then he felt it, a slight 'lub-dub', and shook his head.

"He's okay... Better try and find Vincent."

"No need... He's right here." Yuffie said, as she spotted his limp form sitting against a building across the street.

"Is he okay?"

"He's breathing... I guess." Yuffie said, looking sadly at Vincent's unconscious form.

Barret walked over to Vincent, and knelt down.

Sure enough, the gunslinger was breathing, but it was very shallow.

"We gotta get these guys to the hospital... Screw the killer." Barret said, lifting Vincent up, and then walking over to retrieve Cloud.

"Let's go..." He said, beckoning to Yuffie and walking off.

Yuffie followed, but the shock of the situation was beginning to take its toll on her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chaos and Jenova where now high over the city, slamming into each other, trying to get the other to fumble their weapon. Fire and light blended into a beautiful scene of destruction, the weapon's clangs like that of Church bells tolling out the eminence of the end of the Apocalypse. The two figures darted in and out, trying to out do the other in what seemed like a perfectly balance, and choreographed fight, the jumpy fluidity of it almost dreamlike in its quality. Neither seemed to hold the upper hand for more than a few seconds.

"I'll... kill... you... if it's the... last thing... I do!" Panted Jenova, who wiped sweat off of her perfect brow, as Chaos seemed to take a moments break too.

"Good... That's as it... should... be." He replied, pushing flaming red strands of hair out of his eyes.

"You... want to... DIE?" Jenova asked, arching her eyebrow.

Chaos just looked at her, and then charged.

Jenova was caught off balance, and not ready to counter the blow, but her reaction time was just enough to pull back slightly.

A sickening squelch filled the air, and an explosion of crimson shot into the night, falling down like a morbid rain. Then a shriek rent the night like a jagged razor.

Chaos looked down at his chest, and saw Masamune's hilt protruding out. Jenova also looked down, and saw a deep gash across her stomach, watching in gross fascination as the green acid ate away the flesh with a sizzling sound of cooking bacon.

"You got me..." Jenova said, as her eyes slowly rolled back, leaving blank white to stare out at the world.

"To the death..." Chaos replied, pulling the sword out of his body, as they both began to fall to the earth, like fallen angels.

Their body's disappeared before they hit, turning into glittering powder that fell to the ground like an early winter snow. And as the wind blew gently, if you took the time to listen, you could hear two voices speaking to each other in a foreign tongue, whispers of another world that seemed to melt into harmonic perfection, as one would imagine a song of redemption might.

**The End! **

Next chapter will be an epilogue that will tell of what happened to everyone after the fight was over. The chapter after that will be an addendum alternate ending to the story. Hope you enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Thanks to all those who read and reviewed this story, without you guys... it would be no fun to write for Fanfiction.

Sir Edward


	8. Epilogue

Epilogue

Two days after the near destruction of Avalanche, the group had funerals for all they had lost. They had them in the order of when they died, starting with Cid, and ending with Tifa's. It was a somber day, all wearing black, even Red, who wore a black ribbon around his neck, as they listened to the minister speak praise of the dead, and bless them so that they could go to heaven.

"Let these two souls, who suffered tragic deaths before their time, be blessed and allowed to enter the gates of Heaven. Amen."

"Amen." Everyone said, except Cloud, who looked agitated, and about to burst.

He stood, and shook his head.

"I don't want them going to heaven... Who'd want them up there with a god that would let them die before they should have? I'd rather they join the Life Stream, where Aeris is... There I know they'll be happy. I should know... I've been there twice."

The minister looked shocked at the words that had come out of Cloud's mouth.

"You would deny your friends the sanctuary of Heaven?" He asked, as if he were addressing a child.

"No... But who'd wish them to go there, when they could go someplace better? I lost what little faith I could have had in God when he let Aeris die... How could he kill someone so innocent, and now, he goes and takes my other friends away? What kind of god is that?" Cloud said, daring anyone to challenge him, except there was silence.

The minister shook his head sadly, and said, "The ways of God are not fully understandable to those who are alive... I wish I could tell you, but I can't."

With that, Cloud left, leaving the other's to gape at his sudden departure.

They heard the motor of Fenrir kick to life, and then rumble off into the distance, without even a slight hesitation.

After the funerals, the other's wanted to go look for Cloud.

Red looked around, and said, "I think I know where he went."

"Where?" Asked Yuffie.

"He's at Aeris' church."

They all got into the three-wheeled truck, and headed to Midgar, which was not far, for they had the funerals on the outskirts of the city.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cloud sat by the small patch of flowers, their yellow petals almost a mockery of his dower mood. He raised a single hand, and touched a flower.

"Aeris... If you can hear me, take care of Tifa and Cid, but keep a closer eye on Tif... She'll need it." He said quietly, letting a few rare tears roll down his face.

He sat in silence, letting the smell of the flowers wash over him, a smell he so desperately missed, for Aeris always smelled of them. He had moved on, like she'd asked him too with that one look before she had died; yet there was always a place in his heart for her. Now he had lost two people he held dearly, and he didn't know what to do.

Then he heard the soft patter of paws on stone, and he sat still.

"She heard you Cloud... I have a good feeling that she did. Don't worry." Red said in a whisper, and Cloud nodded in reply.

"He's over here guys..." Red called, and the others came in, and Vincent stooped to meet Cloud's eyes.

"Come on... They wouldn't want us to mourn them for too long." He said, reaching out a hand to help him up.

Cloud nodded again, and grasped Vincent's hand, standing up and turning from the flowers.

Yuffie came and gave Cloud a hug, which to everyone's surprise, Cloud returned.

"It's sad... But they're not in pain now." She said softly, as she pulled away, and went to stand by Vincent.

He nodded once, and they left the church, but Cloud made a mental promise to come and visit their graves once a year, and take a few of Aeris' flowers to them.

**The End!!**


	9. Alternate Ending

This chapter is an addendum alternate ending, meaning that it comes after the epilogue from the story, and becomes the final chapter instead. This was my original idea for the ending, but it struck me as a little... well you'll see... It's meant to be a funny end to a sad story, I have a very morbid sense of humor sometimes, and I know I would have gotten Flamed if I had posted this instead of the revised ending...

Well, enjoy, and don't be too harsh on me, talk to my brain, it's the one that came up with it. So, without further ado, here's the 'funny' ending.

"That's a wrap!" Cried the director from his chair, as the actors exited the stage.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Man that was great, wasn't it Brad?" Said Cloud, as he removed his spiky blonde wig.

"Yeah, but damn, how the hell did Vincent wear all these cloaks and crap, in the middle of the desert?" Said Brad, as he took of a long red cape, and stowed it in the costume box. He took out a brush, and began to fix the untidy mess of black hair, and put it in a ponytail.

"Don't know man... What about you Deon? You know?"

"How the hell should I know? All I know is that Barret is one badass mofo, and I wish I could really be like him."

"How many guys auditioned for your part? There can't be many guys that fit the bill. Him being six something, and wide as a humvee..." Brad grinned.

"Only two... Me and some other guy. Don't know what happened to him though. I think he got sent to the circus." Deon said, giving a laugh, and stripping of the tan jacket he wore.

"This is going to make a great movie dude!" Cried Cid, as he walked around in just his pants, still wearing the flying goggles.

"Tell me about it!" Came a voice from inside a white moogle doll.

"Get outta your costume Bennet! The shows over!" Deon said, staring at the doll with an air of amusement.

All watched as a man popped out of the suit, standing all of 4'6" tall, with a red beard and a big grin. He waved to everyone as he set aside the robotic cat, and said in a trilling Irish accent, "'Tis fun to dress up! 'Sall part o the acting!"

They all laughed and continued to get dressed back into their normal clothes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The women gathered in a group talking and laughing as they got ready to celebrate the ending of another good movie, and telling each other how well they had done.

"Crystal... You where absolutely amazing out there! You being the killer and all... What was it like?" The woman who was Tifa asked, her green eyes now free of the red-brown contacts that she had to wear for the movie.

"Oh, it was exciting, especially being hauled around by that crane thing in the fight scene with Chaos. You where great too Jessie! The way you threw that punch, you looked like a prizefighter out there! Where did you learn that?"

"Had to take karate... Did two moths of it for the shooting... I think I'll continue. Master Lu is going to give me a discount if I keep going after this. So I told him I would."

"Wow... I wish I could join, it would be so cool!" A young woman around the age of 19 said, as she put aside a giant shuriken, and gazed at herself in the mirror.

"You could Jen-jen... I could talk to Master Lu and see if he could let you join."

"Thanks! I'd love it if you did that for me!" Jen said, bouncing slightly on her heels in her excitement.

"How about you Crystal... Want to join? We could be Ninja Women Trio or something." Jessie asked, laughing at the idea of making a ninja group.

"Okay! Sounds great."

"We'll have to come up with a better name though." Jen said.

"Yeah, let's talk about this after the celebration dinner... I'm starving!" Jessie said, smiling happily at the others.

"To dinner!" Cried Jenny and she ran to the door and threw it open, turning a toothy grin at the others.

"Yes, to dinner!" Crystal and Jessie said, and they all walked up to meet the guys to catch the limo that was taking them to dinner.

**FIN!**


End file.
